Lightweight golf-club carrier



June 20, 1961 J. K. NORTHROP LIGHTWEIGHT GOLF-CLUB CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fild Oct. 27, 1959 INVENTOR. Joy/v KA/oer/map BY W; Fizz June 20, 1961 J. K. NORTHROP LIGHTWEIGHT GOLF-CLUB CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Filed Oct. 27, 1959 16! IN V EN TOR.

.fahw A. Nair/reap jBY United States Patent 6) 2,989,319.. LIGHTWEIGHT GOLF-CLUB CAR I ,v

John- Northrop, gtl r a Santa, Bar-ham, Calif: Filed Oct. 27, 1959, S'er. No. 49,049

*1 orgasm-141.2

This invention relates to golf-club carriers or; golf carts, i.e., manually propelled, wheeledvehiclesfor the transportation of golf clubs and accessories ona golf course. The primary object of the inyention is to provide a golfclub carrier of improved, lightweight construction, wherebythe manual efiort required to transport the clubs is reduced to. one-half, orfl'ess', of that usually required with prior golf carts. Other objects are to provide'unusually easy, club. access and selection; superior protection for club shafts and handles; a, simple remainder if clubs are inadvertently left on the course' after. use; andmaximum protection to fairways from cart damage.

Most golf carts. presently in use provide for the transportation of. a golf bag in which clubs, are carriedrather loosely-ewith perhapstwo or three subdivisions within the bag to separate woods, long irons, and shortirons. Because thefclub handles becorne intermixed and: crossed within. the bag, chafing of the club handles anddamage to club shafts may occur. Some players have, added enumber of thin-walled plastic or light-metal tubes within the bag for better protectionof; thehandles shafts from d ma e; ow ver, e e f ne i c P ce mf 1 pport by, the bag for each tube. andcl-ub. Present golf carts for transportinggolf bags, clubs, and protective tubes ke nume o s form s se i l r'ssmr si we" Wheels braced to a backbone, tubular structure, having upperand lower clamps, supports, orfguides to position the golf bag onthe cart. The average cart, even if made of aluminum or ma nesium a s. Weig s 121d. 8 bs a supports weighs 6 to 12 lbs and the protective tubes, if used, weight about 2 lbs, giving, a total weight of 29 to 30 lbs. for a. combination intended totranspgirt approximately 12 lbs. of useful load, a full set. of fourteen clubs.

I ec yea a num f 0i am sement ar an ba s v 1 n he a ket-L efo e -h v separate pockets for each club, and some. have reduced weight to a degree by using comparatively flimsy frame tr t e o y the e Qf ma li.= mt Wheel instead of thenorrnal 1 0 or 12-inch diameter size. Gencrally, the overall weight-saving has hot been substantial, and the nder e h e sh,-re u e fhaY the ad d dvantage. of increasing the effort required to" propel 'the c r e mer sit veto rfa r gular i of t ground, and penetrate the grass to a graifi fd gree by concentrating the cart weight into. a smaller supporting area, thereby increasing the pressurefon theturf The present invention provides a golf-club carrier weighing, approximately 8. lbs utilizingv 12-inch. diameter wheels with treads more than twice aswide as standard tires of the same diameter, which can be propelled up hill or on level turf with appreciably less than half the eito t r quired with, convent on l. olf c r he r u ing reduction in fatigue is of; great Significance to the large majority of golfers who do not employ caddies. The turf pressure and penetration are about one-fourth that of prior-art carts, and, turf damage is lessened accordingly. The clubs are held in individual, smoothwalled tubes which form the principal component of the carrier body and provide maximum ease of club inserttion and removal, with maximum protection to the club handles and shafts. Their logical and orderly arrangement expedites club selection and affords instant reminder of a missing club.

The invention may be best understood from the following illustrative description and the accompanying drawings.

Patented June 20, 1961 FIG. 1 of the drawings is a side elevation ofthe improved golf-club carrier, clubs being shown in some of the club-holding tubes to illustrate the manner of use;

FIG. 2 is a projection view of the same carrier, drawn to a larger scale for better illustrating details of con struction;

FIG. 3- is an exploded, fragmentary detail, drawn to a still larger scale, showing the manner in which the handle socket is removably attached to the upper bracket of the body assembly;

' FIG. 4 is an exploded, fragmentary detail illustrating the manner in which the axle T is removably attached to the lower bracket of the body assembly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical section through one of the wheels, taken along the line 5-5- of FIG, 2.

Referring to the drawings, the improvedQlightWeight golf cart consists essentially of three, easily separated sub assemblies; a body assembly, a handle, and a wheel-andaxle assembly. The body assembly consists of fourteen club-holding tube 1, an upper bracket 2, and an identical (but inverted) lower bracket 3. Each ofthe fourteen tubes 1 is of suflicient diameter to accept the handle and shank of the golf: club. They are graduated in length substantially in the same proportions as a conventional set of golf clubs, each tube being approximately threefourths the length of the club that it is intended to hold. These tubes, having Wall. thicknesses of 15 to 25 mils, may be constructed of a tough, rigid plastic, such as poly vinyl chloride, or ofmagnesium or'aluminurn alloy. Ina preferred embodiment, the fourteen tubes 1 are of p'ol-yvinyl chloride, are approximately l A -inchin diameter, and have'a wall thickness ofapproximately 25- mils. The total weight of the'fourteen tubes is only 2 lbsf The brackets 2 and 3 are preferably of die-cast aluminum or magnesium alloy and weigh only 0.8 lb. Each bracket is provided with fourteen holes for receiving the fourteen tubes 1; these holes are arranged in two parallel fore and-aft rows' of seven holes each. Each of the tubes 1 extends through a hole of bracket 2 and a cor responding hole of bracket 3. The two brackets are located near the upper and lower ends of the tube assembly, respectively, and are cemented to the tubes, forming a rigid bundle of substantially upright, parallel tubes 1. This assembled bundle of tubes 1 has ample structural strength to form the club-holding container and the backbone structure of the cart'in one unit, which it will be noted is exceptionally compact and lightweight. A leg for the cart is formed by a. polyvinyl chloride tube 4 of fli-inch diameter, weighing only 0.1 lb., frictionally held between the lower ends of the'four rearrnost tubes 1 and extending downward from the rear portion of lower bracket 3. The front end of each bracket terminates in the internal portion or tenon 5, 6 of a tapered dove tail joinhby means of which the handle and the whfe'eland-axle assembly are removably attached to the body assembly, as hereafter described.

The rod-like handle extends forward from the upper bracket 2. Preferably, this handle consists of: 'a metal tube 7, e.g., aluminum alloy, of %-inch diameter and 25 mils wall thickness, approximately 27 inches long and weighing 0.211).; a die-cast aluminum socket 8, weighing .15 1b.; and a cork grip 27 weighing lb; The socket 8, which'forms the'base portion 'of the handle, comprises the external part 9- of the tapered dovetail joint by means of which the handle is removably fastened to the upper bracket 2 of the body assembly. As is best shown in FIG. 3, tenon 5 and its mating part 9 are tapered from top to bottom in such a way that the handle and the body assembly are securely locked together when part 9 is pressed downward onto tenon 5. On the other hand, the handle is easily removed, when desired, simply by sliding part 9 upward away from tenon 5.

:inside of and adjacent to the two wheels.

assume The wheel-and-axle assembly comprises a die-cast, aluminum axle T 10, weighing 0.3 1b., which is fastened to the center of a horizontal axle 11, preferably a one-half inch diameter, aluminum alloy rod, about 2 feet long, .weiging less than /2 lb. T extends forward from lower bracket 3 of the body assembly, as shown. The base portion of the T is formed as the external part 12 which mates with tenon 6 to form the tapered dove tail joint, by means of which the wheel-and-axle assembly is removably connected to the body assembly. As is best seen in FIG. 4, tenon 6 and mating part 12 are tapered from bottom to top so that the wheel-and-axle assembly is securely locked to the body assembly when part 12 is slid upward over tenon 6. On the other hand, the wheeland-axle assembly can be readily removed from the body assembly by sliding the part 12 downward away from tenon 6.

Two wheels are rotatively mounted at opposite ends of axle 11. Each wheel comprises two lightweight, metal stampings 13 and 14, as is best seen in FIG. 5, which may be riveted, welded, cemented, or clipped together. The thickness of stampings 13 and 14 is exaggerated in the drawings-in practice, they may be about 20 mils thick. These support a tire 15 of sponge-neoprene or similar material of 12-inch outside diameter and having a relatively wide, smooth tread for maximum turf support and minimum turf damage. The wheels are rotatively .monnted on the axle 11 by means of two nylon bushings 16 and 17, two washers 18 and 19, and cotter pins or other fasteners inserted through holes 20 and 21 of the axle 11. The two wheels, complete, weigh just over-3.5

lbs., of which 2.5 lbs. is in the extra-large tires that promote easy rolling and minimum turf damage.

Two small clips 22, 23 are mounted upon axle 11 just Two flexible brace wires 24, are preferably A -inch diameter stranded-steel wires. The lower ends of wires 24 and 25 are fastened to clips 22 and 23, as shown in FIG. 2. The

upper ends of the two brace wires are provided with hooks 29 (see FIG. 2) which are received by a hole 26 (see FIG. 3) provided in the handle socket, as shown. Thus, .the two brace wires 24 and 25 are removably fastened to the handle, and extend from the base of the handle to the axle 11 in an inverted-V configuration. These two .fiexible steel wires provide transverse bracing for the assembled cart. Not only are they lighter in weight than braces heretofore used, but also they permit fiexure of the axle to absorb shocks.

ment or storage. When the cart is assembled, the wires 24, 25 serve the additional purpose of pulling the handle They are easily unfastened'i from the handle for disassembly of the cart, and occupy negligible space when the cart is disassembled for shipand the wheel-and-axle assembly toward each other, thus In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the fabric bag provided weighs only 0.1 lb.

For disassembly and stowage, the brace wires 24, 25

:are unhooked from hole 26, and the tapered, dove tail oints are separated to remove the handle and the wheeland-axle assembly from the body assembly. Leg 4, being held only by frictional engagement with the four rearmost tubes 1, is easily removed. Wheels can be readily removed from the axle, if desired, for still further compaction or long-distance shipment. The total weight of the complete cart, accpidiflg to a preferred embodiment, is only 7.79 lbs. It may be seen that this is 'about onethird the weight of conventional/prior equipment intended for the same purpose, and that the combined weight of cart and clubs is about one-half as great as heretofore. With the wide-tread, 12-inch diameter tires described, turf pressure and penetration are about one-fourth what is normal with prior golf carts in common use. The propulsion effort is less than half that normally required heretofore. The individual smooth-walled tubes 1 mo vide maximum ease of club insertion and removal, and are far superior in this respect to the individual fabric pockets sometimes'used in golf bags. The relatively light turf pressure precludes any possible damage to tea or fairways.

It will be understood that the particular weights given for the several parts are only illustrative of the exceptional weight reduction achieved by use of the present invention,

and that some variation in the weights of individual parts is to be expected from variations in design, materials used, and the like/ Also, the number of tubes 1 maybe reduced for players who carry less than a full set of clubs; for example, many players carry no more than ten clubs, and for them a cart having only ten of the tubes 1 (five tubes per row) may be.'satisfactory, or even preferable.

What is claimed is:.

a -A lightweight golf-club carrier comprising a plurality of club-holding tubes each adapted to receive the handle and shankof a golf club, said tubes being graduated in length in substantially the same proportions as a conventional set of golf clubs, each tube being approximately three-fourths the length of the club that is intended to hold, upper and lower brackets each provided with holes for receiving saidtubes, said holes of each bracket being arranged in two similar, parallel, fore-and-aft rows of holes, each tube extending through a hole of each bracket and being cemented thereto forming a rigid bundle of substantially upright tubes, a tubular leg frictionally engaging a plurality of said tubes and extending downward from a rear portion of said lower bracket, a removable, rod-like handle extending forward from said upper bracket, a base portion of said handle and a front end portion of said upper bracket being formed as separable, mating parts. of a tapered dove tail joint, a removable axle T extending forward from said lower bracket, a base portion of said T and a front end portion of said lower bracket being formed as, separable mating parts of a tapered dovetail joint, a horizontal axle attached to said T, two wheels rotatively mounted at opposite ends of said axle, two clips fastened to said axle inside of and adjacent to said wheels, and a pair of flexible brace wires extending from said clips to the base of said handle in an inverted-V configuration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,236,053 Caron Mar. 25, 1941 2,681,232 Womack June 15, 1954 2,758,848 Christensen Aug. 14, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 236,390 Great Britain July 9, 1925 UNETED ENT. @ZFZFEQE 5*]? Patent Nae z s aw 20 1961 J' hn K0 Knwr'thrap It is: hareby wrtifiad that @21 02? appwm in tha abcava muiberw paiz ant requiring eormoticm and that the saw Lattm'a Patent shculd wad as corrected below Culumn l line 1? far remainder read reminder column l line 3-8 im? '"weigh'fiz first occurrence, read weigh aalumm 2 line 20 far tube read tubes column 3, line 5 02? weiging mead weighlng 0011mm 4 line 36 for that is intended" read that 1& 1s lntended Signed and sealed this 9th day on? January 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W SWKDER Attestimg @fficer DAVLHID L, LADD Eammissinner of Patents 

